Intercity Bus travel reviews

This is a discussion on Intercity Bus travel reviews within Commercial Vehicles, part of the BHP India category; Kesineni is now advertising Hyderabad-Kochi B9R services. 1600 Rs and 20 hours. I guess it is the extension of the ...

Kesineni is now advertising Hyderabad-Kochi B9R services. 1600 Rs and 20 hours. I guess it is the extension of the Hyderabad-Coimbatore service which is running for some now.

Dont see too many takers for this considering that cheap APEX air tickets might be available for around 3000 Rs or less. Have done the HYDTRV long haul by bus a couple of times but travelling such a long distance I would prefer to break for a few hours at BLR or fly. Also 20 hours is rather optimistic!!!!

Kesineni is now advertising Hyderabad-Kochi B9R services. 1600 Rs and 20 hours. I guess it is the extension of the Hyderabad-Coimbatore service which is running for some now.

No. Its not an extension. Kesineni is showing up both HYD-CBE and HYD-EKM when I searched for a HYD-CBE ticket. KPN recently launched CBE-HYD-CBE and CBE-Vijayawada-CBE services.

Kesineni is being really innovative - they were the first to launch HYD-CBE, HYD-Mangalore (Via Udupi) etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TKMCE

Dont see too many takers for this considering that cheap APEX air tickets might be available for around 3000 Rs or less. Have done the HYDTRV long haul by bus a couple of times but travelling such a long distance I would prefer to break for a few hours at BLR or fly. Also 20 hours is rather optimistic!!!!

Air fares lower than 3000 looks impossible to me. Taxes alone are now working out to around Rs. 2500. And, 20 hours seems doable to be - they take 16 hours from CBE to Hyderabad. They are adding up 4 hours for EKM-CBE run, which looks fair enough (KeSRTC has allotted 4:30 hrs for their Super Express bus).

A random search for airfares from HYD to Cochin shows up around Rs. 3800 (for mid-Jan), on Indigo.

Seriously, dude, Almost of all of NH 17 is serving as a bye pass to hell. That is feed back I am receiving at least on the Kannur - Bhatkal Stretch, minimum.

Ah! Its not a "bypass" to hell, but it goes right through hell! I drive daily on the NH17 - the roads have been thankfully patched up over the past few days. I heard people up North in Kerala are not so lucky.

However, I guess Cool Clouds was talking about the road between Ernakulam and Hyderabad being good, and not the Mumbai route. I am guessing out that he quoted the Mumbai-Kerala service as an example for previous long distance services.

Kallada too is launching a new service to Hyderabad from Kerala. So, this route is the next target - for sure!

Coimbatore - Hyderabad, and Coimbatore-Vijayawada route already has two operators each (Kesineni and KPN). I think the day is not far when Mumbai-Kerala buses re-appear (as Volvo B9Rs!).

Kallada too is launching a new service to Hyderabad from Kerala. So, this route is the next target - for sure!

For the 3+ years i was in Hyderabad, travel to Kerala was a literal pain. As it is, getting a ticket on the train was a miracle, and i usually had to resort to buses since office work meant my leaves were never sure till the last moment. Flying was never an option thanks to my pitiable salary.

I usually broke my journeys in two, by taking a bus to Bangalore, spending time till the evening with my bro, and then take another bus to my destination in Kerala.
I just cannot imagine continous 20+ hours in a bus!

I find it hard to believe that the Volvos are generating losses. Because the number of Volvos has only increased despite this news being circulated for quite a long time. I wonder why the MTC is not opting for the AL or TM RE AC buses.

Since Bangalore got it, Chennai should have them too.Being MTC, you could remove TM from the list. So let us hope for AL RE, reduce the losses and Increase the number of A/C buses

I have been doing regular bus trips between Hyderabad and Pune over the last 3-4 months, and here are a few observations based on What I experienced:

I have always booked on redbus and have never had a problem/clash with seating once I boarded the bus, so I guess the whole thing works quite well. Many operators go with ticket confirmation on SMS, so there is no hassle to get a printout too.

The only doubt I have with this mode is whether I could possibly get cheaper tickets if I go and book directly with the bus company. The ony wayto know is to go and try once!

The operators I have used till date, and my experiences so far:

Sree Kaleswari Travels - I think I have used their services most frequently, especially from Pune to Mumbai. They run the B9R on this route, and the bus is quite good too. Fairly well maintained. I have so far had no issues with them, and recommend them highly. Their fares are comparatively cheaper too. The only issue I have is they stop at a Dhaba for dinner which has an apalling loo. Ladies will have a tough time... Interestingly I havent used them for Hyd-Pune even once. They are the first operator along with Kesineni to sell out on any given day, so I guess they are quite popular. Fare is among the lowest too.

Kesineni - B9R service, quite good, and I used them once from Hyderabad to Pune. My boarding point is Paradise, so I have to report at their office and they picked me up from their in a van to SR Nagar where the Bus waits. Two trips, nice bus, no hassles.

Neeta - I shifted to Neeta for my Hyderabad to Pune trips for two reasons a) tickets are usually available on short notice, and b) they pick up directly from Yatri Nivas/Fire Station near Paradise. No hassle of getting onto a Van etc. The only catch is that once you board the bus, it takes another good one hour 30 min to get out of the city. Oh and they turn left at Miyapur and go all the way to Kondapur T junction too to pick up passengers. They have their B9Rs ( some are showing their age ) and the Mercedes Benz multi-axle buses ( comparable to B9R, and new ). I have used both. One bad experience with them was that I got delayed by around 2 hours while coming from Pune as the B9R suspension started acting up at around Homnabad. The rear seat passengers were literally tossed around as there was next to no damping! I was in the middle row and not directly affected, but it was pain to go through the rest of the trip as the driver reduced the speed considerably and pussyfooted on bad roads. Oh and they have their favourite dodgy dhabas too. Oh, and last but not the least, they are the most expensive of the lot, generally.

Saajan travels - One trip, bad bus ( read dirty ), and the bus broke down at Patancheru while coming from Pune ( some issue with the brake). Will not try again.

Jabbar Travels . B9R, decent bus, but dropped me at Miyapur as they were turning to Hitech City from there. You never get to know this while you are booking tickets, so I have started sticking to Kaleswari-Kesineni-Neeta for now.

SVR - One experience, bad, so I havent tried them again. But then they have many buses on this route, so the experience could vary. The only trip I had, they packed me into an unbelievably overcrowded van from Paradise ( I was standing with nowhere to hold ) to board the bus at SR nagar. And the bus wasnt all that great either. And, to top it up, the bus had a belt failure near the AP-Karnataka border! We lost a good 3 hours there. I havent tried SVR again.

Some other points:

Some operators give free water on the bus, some dont. some give half liter bottles ( which I think is the smart thing to do ) and some 1 liter. And quite often you see bottles rolling around the floor of the bus. Quite a waste this.

Some buses pack their luggage hold with so much parcels that there is literally no room for passenger's bags.

Dodgy Dhabas in this route, and no escape from this. I usually avoid eating anything, and as such the timings permit me to do that.

Movies . aargh. I have been forced to watch Dabang some 3-4 times already. And they go on till 12 or so. You cant get decent sleep till then.

The blankets. I try not to think too much about them. At least in newer buses they feel new. I have had experiences of dusty blankets.

AC - they switch it off sometimes, though thankfully not too often. I have always wondered , do they run the AC in recirc mode? With 50 passengers and limited air available... !

I prefer middle row seats and redbus allows me to select them. The numbering system is all confusing, I guess primarily to work around the permit issues.

Many buses have really shaggy looking attendants!

The drivers are usually good, at least they look the right age and experience, though some are real cowboys! I try not to follow/focus on what they are doing on the road.

Leg rooms vary. the Neeta Mercs have decent legroom, and some of the B9Rs have too. I think it is operator-specific.

I have seen that in some buses, the spare drivers sleep in the luggage hold!! with a proper bed and all.

I have to continue using buses for another 4-5 months at least till my family joins me in Pune. More interesting experiences till then, I guess!

TKMCE, hope you are very aware that buses are for those who decide to travel last minute. Apex is Advance Payment Excursion fare.

A small orrection - it is advance PURCHASE excursion fare Means the same thing though).

BSD - I do know it -part of my job as well - okay I should have modified as Instant Purchase fare at around 4000

At the last minute considering that a bus takes better part of two days people might as well fly- there is overcapacity on the route in question.

Also I doubt there is enough regular traffic to sustain this route - the train except in Season empties out considerably as it reaches CJB. I should know I have done the long haul twice up and down between HYD and COK.

Binaiks

You are right.This is a new frequency and will be the second frequency to CJB as per my local travel agent. Apparently CJB HYD leg is doing well but I am talking about traffic to COK.

KESRTC 4.30 hours between Ernakulam and Coimbatore - well I took the Super express last Sat and in 5 hours I reached only Alwaye - to be far there were some festival processions all over the place between Trichur and Chalakudi and the bus entered Trichur bus station although I remember reading somewhere the TRV CJB buses are to byepass both EKM and TCR bus staitons!!!.

Quote:

Originally Posted by benbsb29

For the 3+ years i was in Hyderabad, travel to Kerala was a literal pain. As it is, getting a ticket on the train was a miracle, and i usually had to resort to buses since office work meant my leaves were never sure till the last moment. Flying was never an option thanks to my pitiable salary.

I usually broke my journeys in two, by taking a bus to Bangalore, spending time till the evening with my bro, and then take another bus to my destination in Kerala.
I just cannot imagine continous 20+ hours in a bus!

Eactly what I used to do. Overnight Volvo to BLR and one of the night buses to COK or if was TRV the 2.30 PM KPN service via Salem Madurai which used to reach TRV before 6 AM.

And this 20 hours is hypthetical!!! More likely will reach in 24.

Last edited by FlyingSpur : 18th December 2010 at 20:11.
Reason: Please use the EDIT function instead of posting back-to-back posts within 20 minutes. Thanks.

TKMCE - if you look at the sabari express bookings even during non-sabarimala season, it os on 3 digit w/l figures even 40 days before a journey, on most days. Have checked it some days back for a relative's Tirumala travel.

IMO the Kesineni is taking a well calculated gambit. There is demand. I am not in the market for HYD / KL travel anyway.

BTW, are direct GOA - KOLLUR volvo / other luxury buses available? Preferably from Madgaon? I know that the road is pretty nasty, but the trip is scheduled in February (postponed from 2nd week of January)

I would prefer the train, but they start either too early (pre 8 AM0 or arrive Kundapura / Byndoor too late - after 6.

KESRTC 4.30 hours between Ernakulam and Coimbatore - well I took the Super express last Sat and in 5 hours I reached only Alwaye - to be far there were some festival processions all over the place between Trichur and Chalakudi and the bus entered Trichur bus station although I remember reading somewhere the TRV CJB buses are to byepass both EKM and TCR bus staitons!!!.

Now, Its unfair to expect drivers to stick to the time-schedules, when, like you said there were festival processions. Coimbatore-Trivandrum buses are required to enter all bus stations en-route, and none of them are bypass services. These buses require more than 4:30 to reach EKM from CBE. At the same time, all EKM-CBE-EKM Super Expresses take the Thrissur bypass. They cover the distance in less than 4:30hrs these days.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TKMCE

And this 20 hours is hypthetical!!! More likely will reach in 24.

I somehow think its very well doable. The HYD-CBE buses are covering in 16 hrs., and 20 hrs to Cochin is very well plausible.